SV 98 has filled the vacant position of Sporting Director at its youth academy. Maximilian Mehring succeeds Björn Müller. The 39-year-old had previously been serving as interim coach at the Lilies' youth academy. SV 98 has also adjusted its reporting structure within the youth academy.
Björn Kopper, Head of the Youth Academy: „Max has done an outstanding job as interim coach over the past few months, initiating and developing numerous projects in this role. Following Björn Müller’s departure, he has already addressed many areas that fall within the purview of the Sporting Director. He has impressively demonstrated his ability to fulfill this role effectively. It was therefore only logical to integrate him into the Youth Academy in this capacity. For us, it’s ideal to have someone who is already familiar with our processes, while simultaneously having gained experience at other clubs and thus bringing a fresh perspective.“
Paul Fernie, Sporting Director of SV 98: „As liaison coach, Max has been an important contact person for me since last summer. In our discussions, we quickly realised that we share similar ideas regarding the sporting direction and development in the youth sector and the transition to the senior team. He managed to establish connections with all departments within the youth academy in a short time, always keeping the big picture in mind. This 360-degree view is very important for a sporting director. We are absolutely convinced that he will fill the new position very well with his meticulousness, his ideas, and his intuition.“
Maximilian Mehring: „I’m looking forward to this new challenge and am very grateful to the club for the trust they’ve placed in me. The club has clear ideas and visions for the next steps in the development of its youth academy. For me, it’s a great incentive to be able to play an even more active role in shaping this process in the future. And all this in an environment where I’ve felt very comfortable from day one.“
During his playing career, Mehring made three appearances in the second division and a total of 110 appearances in the regional league, including 23 for Darmstadt 98. After his playing career, the Worms native worked as an assistant and head coach at Wormatia Worms, Waldhof Mannheim, and SV Sandhausen. Mehring has held the position of interim coach at SV 98 since July 2025.
SV 98 will fill the interim coach position permanently in due course.
SV 98 Adjusts Reporting Structure
To further improve coordination between the professional players‘ division and SV 98’s governing bodies, the club has adjusted its reporting structure. Going forward, the youth academy, represented by Björn Kopper, will no longer report directly to the club’s board of directors, but rather to the managing director of the professional players‘ division, Tom Eilers, and sporting director, Paul Fernie, on a topic-specific basis. While Eilers will be primarily responsible for strategic, organisational, and infrastructural matters, all sporting matters will fall under Fernie’s purview. Both Eilers and Fernie will continue to report directly to the board of directors.
The Bundesliga finalised the match schedules for matchdays three through six on Wednesday (July 15th): Darmstadt's home game against Hannover 96 on matchday three will take place on Sunday. This will be followed by their away game against 1. FC Kaiserslautern on Saturday at 1pm. The home game against Arminia Bielefeld on Friday evening and the away game in Wolfsburg, also on Friday evening, have also been confirmed.
The Lilies can welcome another new arrival at the Böllenfalltor: Florian Kleinhansl will now wear the SV 98 jersey. The 25-year-old joins on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with 1. FC Kaiserslautern on June 30th.
Third test, third clear victory. SV 98 won the match against FC 08 Homburg 5-1 (3-0).
SV Darmstadt 98 and the fusion energy company Focused Energy are entering into an official partnership. The aim of the collaboration is to more closely link top-level football and high technology from the Darmstadt region and to jointly generate momentum for innovation and future societal issues.
Killian Corredor will be playing in his home country again in the future. SV 98 has reached an agreement with FC Nantes on the transfer of the Frenchman.
On Tuesday (July 14, 6pm), SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Regionalliga side FC Homburg and asks fans to take note of the following information.
A home game against KSV! SV Darmstadt 98 hosts Holstein Kiel for the opening matchday of the 2. Bundesliga season this Saturday (August 8 at 1pm). Here’s how you can be there: the member pre-sale for the new season's first home game begins this coming Wednesday (July 15) at 12pm —available online and at the ticket shop at the Merck-Stadion, as usual. You can find all further details in this announcement.
For every home goal scored by the "Lilies," SV Darmstadt 98 fans were doubly rewarded during the recent 2025/26 second-division season. Beyond the joy and excitement, supporters received 98 litres of Krombacher Pils for every goal Darmstadt scored at the Merck-Stadion am Böllenfalltor.
In recent days, various media outlets have published reports and graphics regarding the distribution of TV revenue for the 2026/27 season. Some of these reports included not only specific figures but also a comparison to the previous season. This comparison indicates a supposed revenue increase of €1.4 million for SV 98 compared to the 2025/26 season.
SV Darmstadt 98 successfully completed their second pre-season friendly, defeating Verbandsliga side VfR Fehlheim 8-0 (4-0).
